Joel Gretsch

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Joel Gretsch

Date Of Birth

Biography

American actor Joel Gretsch was born on December 20, 1963 in Albany, Minnesota. He studied acting at the Guthrie Theater in Minneapolis, before moving to Los Angeles in 1989. He made appearances in several stage productions, notably productions of Tartuffe and Danny and the Deep Blue Sea. He also quickly started his television career, making his screen debut through a bit role in the pilot episode of Freshman Dorm.

Since then, he has played several guest roles in television, starring in shows such as Married… with Children, Saved by the Bell: The New Class, Melrose Place, Friends, JAG, Pacific Blue and Beyond Belief: Fact or Fiction. He made his first film appearance in 1999, playing a supporting role in the thriller Kate’s Addiction.

His first major television role came in 2002, when he was cast in Steven Spielberg’s television miniseries Taken. He plays Owen Crawford, a ruthless Air Force captain who will stop at nothing—even resorting to sacrificing his family—to find out the truths about visitors from outer space, a search that began when he chanced at the crash site at Roswell. His next major role is in the science fiction series The 4400, where he plays the series’ protagonist Tom Baldwin. His character is a former FBI agent who now works for the NTAC, and later develops a relationship with one of the 4400, Alana Mareva (Karina Lombard), who creates an alternate reality to make it possible.

Gretsch also has a notable film career, playing roles in films such as The Legend of Bagger Vance, Minority Report, The Emperor’s Club and National Treasure: Book of Secrets. He has also played guest roles in shows such as NCIS, CSI: NY and CSI: Miami. He played the father of the protagonist Dan Vasser (Kevin McKidd) in Journeyman, and Lindsay Boxer’s (Angie Harmon) love interest in Women’s Murder Club.

In 2009, Gretsch was cast in ABC's V, a re-imagining of the 1983 miniseries created by Kenneth Johnson. On the show, he portrays Father Jack Landry, a Catholic priest and former U.S. Army chaplain who forms an alliance with Erica over their discovery of the Visitors' secret.